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Relaxed and friendly Shropshire Bed and Breakfast with a touch of luxury.
In the beautiful Shropshire countryside near Ludlow. Somewhere to take a deep breath and unwind following a day out exploring the Shropshire Hills

Karen’s Blog

We’ve been enjoying a lovely autumn in Shropshire. I’ve been taking the opportunity to take lots of lovely dog walks in the woods.

Purslow Woods, which you can walk to from Hopton House, but I tend to cheat and drive the 2 minutes up there, is looking magnificent. It’s full of sessile oak which has the most amazing coloured leaves right now. A lot of them have fallen, but in a few weeks time, when all the leaves have fallen, there’s a thick carpet of them to kick through.

We have lots of availability for the rest of the autumn. The autumn duvets are on the beds and each room has completely controllable heating, so you won’t go cold. Book now for a late autumn break!

9 Things to do in Shropshire this autumn

Shropshire is an undiscovered county sitting on the edge of the West Midlands between Birmingham and Wales. Here at Hopton House we’re just 6 miles from the Welsh Border and only 1/2 mile from Herefordshire.

It’s not on the main UK tourist trail but one thing is certain; when travellers accidentally come across Shropshire, normally driving through it to get somewhere else or visiting a food festival, they invariably fall in love and return many times.

I love Shropshire for its wonderful countryside; dramatic hills, valleys and woodlands but it’s more than just countryside. There are a few things about Shropshire you might find quite surprising and many things to do and places to visit. Here are a few of my favourites.

1. Home to the first successful food festival in the UK

Ludlow, in the South of the county and 20 minutes from us, has become well known in recent years for its food festival. It’s held every year in the 2nd weekend of September and was the first successful food festival in the UK. It’s held in the grounds of Ludlow Castle and in the surrounding town. If you want to avoid the crowds, go first thing on a Friday.

2. Home to royals

Long before Ludlow became known for food, it was the administrative capital of Wales. Arthur, Prince of Wales, and probably better known as older brother to Henry VIII, was living at Ludlow Castle with his wife, Katharine of Aragon, when he died in 1502. His heart is buried in St Laurence Church. The castle is home to the annual Medieval Craft Fair during the last weekend in November.

3. The Oldest Brewery in the UK

If you like your beer then Shropshire is the place to visit. It is awash with breweries and Bishops Castle is the home to the Three Tuns brewery, the oldest licensed brewery in the UK. There are several beer festivals held through the year, The Clun Valley beer festival is held in October.

4. The world’s industrial revolution started here

Given how rural it is, it may come as a bit of a surprise that Ironbridge in Shropshire was home to the industrial revolution in the 18th century. Today there are many museums for you to explore Shropshire’s industrial past. Blist’s Hill is an open air recreated Victorian Town.

5. Amazing geology

The Long Mynd is well known for being one the most beautiful areas in the UK, but it also has some of the most fascinating geology. The most famous Silurian site in the world is Wenlock Edge. A 400 million year old coral reef is now exposed and lots of fossils have been found here.

6. Walk in the steps of Keira Knightley

If history, food and geology aren’t your thing and you’re more of a film buff, then Stokesay Court was the country house used in the film, Atonement. It’s open for guided tours once a month. A special thank you to Tim King for letting me use his photo of Stokesay Court.

7. Visit the place where the modern Olympic Games all start

If you watched the Olympic Games in London in 2012, you may have wondered why one of the mascots was called Wenlock. Much Wenlock in Shropshire is home to the Wenlock Olympian Games., which were started by Dr. William Penny Brookes. These games are thought to have inspired the modern Olympic Games that began in 1896.

8. Enjoy amazing autumn colours

Whilst New England in America is renowned for its autumn colours, we also have some amazing displays here in Shropshire on a smaller scale. Last year the colours lasted well into November, which is when I took this picture. The hills turns purple with heather – visit the Stiperstones or the Long Mynd to get the best displays.

9. Visit Stokesay Castle

Just 6 miles from Hopton House, visit the finest and best-preserved fortified medieval manor house in England.Stokesay Castle was built in the 13th century by Laurence of Ludlow, who at the time was one of the richest men in England.

I’m very sad to tell you that we had to say goodbye to Mitsi the B&B Dog last Monday. She was 14 and had gone downhill quite rapidly in the last 7 months since we lost Murphy. Whilst she enjoyed some of the perks of being an only dog, I really think she missed her best mate too much.

She came to us 13 years ago as a nearly 1 year old rescue dog. She’d belonged to an old Welsh lady who became too ill to look after her, so she was a well loved dog even before she arrived with us.

I hope she’d tell you she’d had a wonderful life here; a big garden to play in filled with rabbits, squirrels and mice, lots of games of ball, walks in the wood and up the lane, a wonderful best friend in Murphy and, of course, endless love and cuddles from us.

We’re all very sad, especially coming so soon after losing our lovely boy.

I’ve been running the B&B for 14 years this week. Murphy arrived 2 months after we opened and Mitsi 6 months after that. It’s taking some getting used to not having my 2 best pals around.

We do, however, have some slightly happier news. We have a new arrival, Saffy. Saffy arrived a few weeks before we realised we’d be losing Mitsi. She will never be able to replace either Mitsi or Murphy but she is keeping us occupied and amused, which is what both Rob and I need right now.

She’s another rescue dog; an 8 month old German shepherd/rough collie ( lassie ) mix. She’s a very clever girl and also displaying typical puppy behaviour!

She adores people and other dogs. So she’s the perfect B&B dog. It can be quite a struggle getting anywhere with her when we’re out where there are people, as everyone keeps stopping to make a fuss of her, which she loves.

Most B&B owners, myself included, will have a whole section on things to do on their website. But I was thinking the other day about my own favourite holidays and they seem to involve doing nothing much at all.

My favourites have been; lying on our hotel bed in Rome watching hundreds of swifts flying round the Pantheon, sitting on a beach in Maine looking out to sea for hours on end, lying in a Swiss meadow looking up at the mountains, sitting by a Scottish loch.

Luckily, living in Shropshire, I’m able to indulge in my favourite hobby of not doing very much in nature on a regular basis. I present to you;

The Art of Doing Nothing Much in the Shropshire Hills

Last Monday was an unexpected glorious morning. I had a long to do list but abandoned it to do the short walk to the top of our nearest hill and lie in the grass and just breathe it all in.

Lying down on top of a hill in April

And it’s not the first time I’ve done that. I have an app called Timehop on my phone. It shows me pictures that I’ve posted on social media in previous years. It would appear that for the last 5 years in this 2 weeks in April, I’ve been walking to the top of that hill and doing nothing!

The previous week we had another perfect day, so my to do list was once again abandoned and I drove to Rhos Fiddle nature reserve. Here I sat in a lay by watching lambs and listening to skylarks.

Near Rhos Fiddle Nature reserve listening to skylarks

In February, I rediscovered a favourite road from here to Clunton Coppice. It’s a tiny lane with amazing views. This time I sat and closed my eyes and meditated for a while. On opening my eyes there was a Goshawk sitting on the post by the car watching me.

Back in May, I’d driven along the same road in search of a field of bluebells and ended up lying in a field doing nothing for an hour. That photo of my boots got on the BBC weather!

Even on a rainy day I’ll quite often drive out and park up a lay-by with a book, just so I can listen to the rain on my car roof, with a beautiful green backdrop. Though on a very rainy day I’ll often just head to the Granary Room and sit and read or knit and listen to the rain.

A tiny Shropshire Lane on a grey day

I’ve yet to do it ( it involves leaving a Mitsi for too long ) but one day I’m planning to jump on the Heart of Wales line at Hopton Heath with some mindless knitting and enjoy the beautiful journey down to Swansea just so I can come back again.

If you’re planning a visit and the idea of doing nothing much at all appeals, let me know and I’ll share my favourite “doing nothing” places.

And if your Idea of doing nothing involves not going out to eat in the evening, remember you can always order a platter to be waiting for you in your room fridge!

Local Restaurants

We have good news for everyone who loves the Jolly Frog. It has got a new chef and management team, has had a good spruce up and is now open for business!

Whilst the fish menu is not as extensive as before, it still features a good amount of fish, as well as meat and vegetarian dishes and the pizza oven is still producing lovely pizzas.

There’s a bar menu and an a la carte menu – you can mix and match and order from both. And also a list of daily specials.

We’re very much looking forward to getting up on the deck on the first sunny day evening that’s warm enough.

Another one of our favourite local restaurants, that we head for on a sunny day, is the Lion down at Leintwardine ( about 3 miles from us ). The food is very good and it’s rather idyllic sitting there on the riverbank watching the kingfishers, dipper, sand martins and jumping fish.

Take the train to dinner

We’re very lucky to have the Heart of Wales line of the doorstep, just a few minutes walk from us. There are very few trains a day but the timings do mean that you can get a train down to Knighton or Bucknell in the evening and then get it back again to Hopton House.

The Baron at Bucknell is a favourite of many of our guests and is about a 10 minute walk from the station.

The evening train runs from Monday through to Saturday ( Sunday hours are different ), leaving Hopton Heath at 7.04 and returning from Bucknell at 10.04 and Knighton at 9.58. Please do double check the train times before you set out and always book your pub as they can get very busy.

Evening platters

If you’d rather stay in in the evening, we can provide you with a cold platter. I leave these in your fridge ( it is a silent fridge! ) in your room ready for your arrival, along with a freshly baked loaf of my homemade honey granary bread.

The ploughman’s platter is very popular with local pork pie, pate, ham, cheese and chutney. The smoked salmon platter has several different types of smoked salmon. The local cheese platter has 5-6 local cheeses. I can also do a vegetarian or vegan platter on request.

I charge £25 for a platter for 2. Please make sure you either book your platter at the same time as you book your room or give me several days notice before your arrival.

We aren’t licensed so can’t sell you wine, but we provide both wine and champagne glasses in the room so please bring your own. If you’re a beer or cider drinker we have an amazing array of local ciders and beers. Harry Tuffins Supermarket in Craven Arms isn’t on the normal tourist trail but it’s local beer and cider department is a sight to behold! Let me know and I’ll leave pint glasses in your room.

Yesterday, Rob and I popped down to see the Weeping Poppies at Hereford Cathedral. Thousands of ceramic poppies cascade down the front of the Cathedral until 29 April 2018 as part of the final year of 14-18 NOW’s UK-wide tour. The display is free and open to the public.

There will special events at the Cathedral and throughout Herefordshire to mark the contributions of the men and women of Herefordshire to the war effort. You can find more details here https://herefordcathedral2018.org/

Hereford is about a 50 minute drive from Hopton House. The cathedral itself is very interesting to visit. It’s home to the Mappa Mundi, believed to be the largest Medieval map still to exist. More details can be found here https://www.themappamundi.co.uk/index.php

Hereford is an interesting city with a mix of independent and chain stores. It has new shopping area with lots of different restaurants. Rob and I ate at The Beefy Boys which is great if you love beefburgers!

We’re very excited and grateful to be included, as the B&B to stay at, in a fabulous article on Shropshire in this month’s Countryfile magazine.

It’s a lovely article written by Marie Kreft, who wrote the latest Bradt Slow Travel Guidebook to Shropshire. If you’re planning a visit to Shropshire in 2018, I would recommend you definitely go out and buy it as soon as possible.

It would make a great Christmas present packaged up with a gift voucher for a stay at Hopton House. Email me for more details!

We also added to the excitement last Tuesday, when Carol Kirkwood chose one of of my photos ( see above ) to accompany the weather forecast on BBC Breakfast. Shropshire had seen the lowest official recorded temperature that night and our view looked amazing.

Fear not that you’ll get cold here at Hopton House. Both B&B rooms have individual thermostatic controls so you can set the temperature to whatever you like at any time of the day or night. And the road outside is gritted so actually getting snowed in has only happened once in our 13 years of being here.

Three great Shropshire books to plan your visit

Shropshire is still something of an undiscovered county. This is great if you’re visiting. There are far fewer people here than in more popular British tourist destinations.

Of course,once people have visited once, they can’t understand why it isn’t more popular! Many first time visitors go on to become repeat guests at the B&B, having fallen in love with the county.

If you’re planning a visit but aren’t sure what to do when you come here, I thought I’d recommend some books for you to get a taste of the county.

Of course, if you want to wait for your stay, we have all these books available for guests to read here at Hopton House. They also make great gifts to take away or remind you of your trip to Shropshire.

Another idea would be to package up one of these books with a gift voucher for a stay at Hopton House – what a great Christmas or birthday present!

Click on the picture of each book to buy direct from Amazon.

Slow Travel Shropshire

Marie Kreft is a local author who has long been in love with Shropshire. She has written this wonderful guide on Shropshire for Bradt Travel Guides.

She moves around the county describing things to do in the countryside and towns, places to eat and stay. The emphasis of the book is on Slow Travel, taking time to enjoy local food, characterful places and leaving the car behind where you can.

A Year in Shropshire

Just released is this lovely book from the Hayward Family, filled with photographs of Shropshire throughout the year. John and his father, Mike Hayward, fill my social media streams with the most wonderful images and have now produced this great book.

It would make a great gift for any fan of Shropshire.

A Shropshire Lad

For the poetry lover in your life, this beautiful book combines A.E. Housman’s famous A Shropshire Lad poem with some glorious images of the local countryside.

If you look North out of both the Granary and Barn room you’ll see Clunbury Hill, immortalised in Housman’s poem:

“Clunton and ClunburyClungunford and Clun,Are the Quietest placesUnder the sun”Please note that this blog post contains affiliate links. For each book you buy via Amazon I receive a small commission. I only ever recommend products I use and like myself. All funds received go to the dogs’ vet bills!

Blackberry pancakes with an apple, blackberry and cinnamon compote

We’ve enjoyed a very busy summer here at Hopton House B&B, so it was about time for me to have a couple of days off, to rest and recharge, ready for a business autumn

Unfortunately, despite planning a long lie in, Storm Aileen did her best to keep me awake last night, then I forgot to turn off my alarm – d-oh. This was closely followed by a craving for sausages and pancakes ( I blame lack of sleep and the fact that “Come on Eileen” was stuck in my head and wouldn’t be removed till I play it at full volume )

Pancakes and sausages are my 2 favourite breakfast ingredients and, as it’s autumn, there are lots of lovely ingredients in the garden to go with them. So I headed into the orchard, where the apples are throwing themselves off the trees and the wildflower meadow, where we have lots of blackberries just now.

I’ll be putting these pancakes on the breakfast menu for a short while, but book soon if you want to try them, as the blackberries won’t last for long

This recipe will feed 2 people very generously with about 5 small pancakes each. You could halve it for more a manageable breakfast.

Pancake Ingredients

1 cup ( 150g ) Plain ( all purpose flour )

2 tablespoons ( 30g ) white sugar

1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda ( baking soda )

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup ( 225 ml ) buttermilk

2 eggs

2 tablespoon ( 25g ) melted butter

About 30 small blackberries

Compote ingredients

1 large eating apple – granny smiths are good – cored, peeled and chopped into large cubes

10 small blackberries

2 tablespoons ( 25g ) melted butter

1/2 tablespoon on brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 tsp lemon juice

Method

Put the apples, butter, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon in a small frying pan and cook over a medium heat for about 6 or 7 minutes. Stir it frequently and keep an eye on the apples. It may take less of more time depending on your apple type. You want them beginning to soften but not disintegrating.

When the compote is ready, take it off the heat and stir in the blackberries and maple syrup.

Mix the dry pancake ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Stir the wet mix into the dry mix, Don’t over stir – just stir enough so that all the flour is mixed in. You’re looking for it to resemble a thick mix like extra thick double cream.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Brush the pan with melted butter generously, then put about a couple of tablespoons into the pan for each pancake. Don’t overcrowd the pan as the mix will spread. Put 3 blackberries into the top of each pancake.

When bubbles start to appear on the top of the pancakes then flip and cook until browned on both sides – just pick up the edge of the pancake with your spatula to check how brown it’s getting. One of the tricks to getting perfect pancakes and is getting the temperature right. This will depend on the weight of your frying pan and the temperature of your cooker.

Serve with the compote and extra maple syrup if required. Oh yes and I recommend a couple of sausages too, with or without Dexy’s Midnight Runners playing in the background.

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Relaxed and friendly Shropshire Bed and Breakfast with a touch of luxury.
In the beautiful Shropshire countryside near Ludlow. Somewhere to take a deep breath and unwind following a day out exploring the Shropshire Hills